Page 6 of Good and Gone

Now Iknowshe is mimicking her father. Tyler doesn’t mind the fact that I work. It’s not like it’s a choice; our family depends on the income. But in times like these, when sleep is scarce and stress is high, I know he resents that I can’t be the kind of mother to our children that he had growing up.

“You shouldn’t work so much,” Lily says, folding her arms across her chest. “Then you could wash my shoes.”

This is my daughter. She deals in absolutes. “Someone has to pay the bills around here.Someonehas tobuyyou those shoes. ”

“Oh, and you know what else?” she says striding into the kitchen, one hand on her hip, all sass. I try to think of what I was like at her age, but I can't relate. Lily's childhood and mine were worlds apart. “I just don't like it when you talk to me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I'm a kid.”

3

Hailey

“What’s taking so long?” Lily demands, frowning. Her ringlets bob and sway as she talks, and her blue eyes are hard and fierce.

The three of us are sitting in the car in the driveway, waiting for Tyler to return with the muffins.

“I told you, honey,” I say. “Daddy said traffic is bad.”

“Someone didn’t plan this well.” Mason looks up from the tablet he has been engrossed in, his blond hair tousled by a brisk autumn breeze.

“I forgot,” I tell him. “That’s not the same thing.”

He looks up at me with contempt. He has my blue eyes, my full lips, and my narrow nose. “You said you wouldn’t forget again,” he says accusingly.

While I’d like to say he sounds like his father, we all know I’m the planner in the family. Tyler works hard. He’s a terrific husband and an incredible father, but it’s me who holds everything together. Tyler isallowedto forget. With me, there is no room for imperfection. This is the point Mason is trying to make, even if he doesn’t yet have the words to convey it.

“We’re going to be late for school,” Lily whines, tugging at the sleeve of my shirt.

“We’re not going to be late.” I pick up my phone to try Tyler again, because of course we’re going to be late. If we’re late again, this is going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The kids’ school has a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy when it comes to tardiness. They can afford to; they have a waitlist a mile long. We cannot afford to test that policy—we need this school. Lily benefits from the small class size. My husband swears they’d be okay in public school, but they’re so overcrowded. I can’t imagine how that would set Lily back. Plus, all their friends are at West Hill Prep.

Movement to my left startles me, causing me to fumble my phone, which tumbles to the floorboard. When I look up, there’s a looming figure standing at my window, his nose practically pressed against the glass.

My knuckles turn white around the steering wheel and my breath catches. I feel my heart beating in my throat when I see it’s only the neighbor. I press the button to lower the window, embarrassed.

“Jesus, Kenneth,” I say. “You startled me.”

“Everything okay?” he asks, glancing around the interior of my SUV. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Fine,” I say. “Now that I see it’s you and not some crazed lunatic.”

“Sorry,” he says with a chuckle. “I thought you might be having car trouble.”

“No. Just waiting on Ty.”

“Ah,” he says. “I see. Well, good…” he stammers and shifts from foot to foot. Kenneth is not normally the nervous or hesitant type, but ever since—

“Anyway,” he tells me, clearing his throat. “I hate to ask, but I have an early procedure. I was wondering if you might drive Reese to school.”

“Sure.” I glance at his porch where his daughter is standing with her lunchbox in hand. “It’s no problem.”

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “You’re a lifesaver, Hailey.”

“We’re going to be late,” Lily tells him, poking her head around my seat. “Reese doesn’t like to be late, and neither do I.”

“We’re not going to be late,” I repeat while studying him. He looks tired to me, as if he hasn’t slept in days—or worse yet, has been drinking too much. I start to ask if everything is okay, but I already know the answer.

---